From Publishers Weekly
Readers who want to know what life was really like when the Taliban ruled Kabul should turn off CNN and read this book. Latifa (who writes under a pseudonym) was a 16-year-old aspiring journalist when her brother rushed home one day in late 1996 with word that the white flag of the Taliban flew over their school and mosque. She writes, "We knew the Taliban were not far away... but no one truly believed they would manage to enter Kabul." The bizarre edicts of the women-suppressing regime slowly become a reality: women weren't allowed outside the home unless they were shrouded in a "chadri" (which covers the face and arms, unlike a burka, which covers the entire body and according to Latifa is worn only in distant provinces) and accompanied by a male relative. "A girl is not allowed to converse with a young man. Infraction of this law will lead to the immediate marriage of the offenders." No wearing of bright colors or lipstick; no medical care from a male doctor. And women doctors were not allowed to work, essentially cutting off medical care for women. Latifa's story puts a face on these now-familiar rules, and conveys the sheer boredom of the lively teenager-turned-hermit and the desperation of not knowing if she'll ever complete her education in such an upside-down world. Despite its rushed ending (the family fled to France in May 2001 with the help of French Elle) and the occasional reminder that the author is now only 22 (there's talk of Madonna, Brooke Shields, fashion and Indian films), this memoir is one instance where a thousand words are worth more than any picture. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
She could be the girl on the National Geographic cover. Before the Taliban takeover, Latifa's life revolved around school, friends, parties, and movies. Suddenly, she was confined to her apartment, unable to venture out uncovered by the hated burka. She and her family were spared the horrific fates of some of Kabul's residents but, in the end, lost nearly everything but their lives. With her exotic voice and exquisite diction, Brychta is Latifa. You won't doubt for a moment her fear, boredom, shock, or sorrow. What comes through most clearly is her indignation at the treatment of women and the fact that most of the world ignored it. Her relief at escape to Pakistan, and a single drink of fresh water, is palpable. She is safe now, in Paris, but her story, like the eyes of the cover girl, will haunt you. J.B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Latifa was only 16 when the Taliban overran Kabul, changing her life dramatically. On the morning of September 26, 1996--the day the Taliban took Kabul--Latifa, her sister, Soraya, and their father drove to Aryana Square and saw the body of the murdered former president, Najibullah. The Taliban began issuing edicts, forbidding women to leave their houses without a close male relative to escort them; forcing them to wear chadris, which cover their entire bodies; and refusing to allow them to work. Latifa, Soraya, and their mother suffered greatly, falling into depression. Their mother, a doctor, continued to see patients secretly, and Latifa eventually started an underground school for girls, an action that put both her and her students at great risk. Latifa and her parents left Afghanistan to be interviewed by the French magazine Elle, but when they tried to return, they discovered that the Taliban had declared them enemies of the state. A moving firsthand account with a real sense of immediacy. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Entertainment Weekly
"[This book] chronicles one Afghan family's 'nightmare in broad daylight' with an intimacy you won't find in newspapers. Grade: A-."


USA Today
"This story is compelling and sad...It's a harsh and valuable reminder of the brutality of the Taliban."


Washington Post
"The stories of the women of Afghanistan are at once individually dramatic and collectively numbing."


Entertainment Weekly
"It chronicles one Afghan family's 'nightmare in broad daylight' with an intimacy you won't find in newspapers. Grade: A-."


Los Angeles Times
"[My Forbidden Face] is her story, told with a young girl's unflinching faith in the future."


Book Description
A moving tale of oppression and courageous defiance -- the true story of a teenage girl growing up in war-torn Afghanistan. From 1997 to 2001, sixteen-year-old Latifa was a prisoner in her own home as the Taliban wreaked havoc on the lives of Afghan girls and women. This is her testimony -- a young woman's reaction to the inhumanity taking place before her very eyes. Latifa's life was turned upside down the moment the Taliban took Kabul. The oppressive regime banned women from working from schools, from public life, even from leaving their homes without a male relative. Female faces were outlawed as the burka, or head-to-toe veil, became mandatory. Latifa had planned to pursue journalism, in a quest for the truth about the ever-shifting power structure in her country. From the Russians to the warring factions, Latifa's existence had been marred by violence and upheaval. But when the Taliban took over, her world was reduced to the few rooms of her apartment. Like a contemporary Anne Frank, Latifa was forced to observe, absorb, and make sense of what was happening to women, to her country, from the! confines of her four walls. Frustrated by the sight of children wandering the streets below, and despite the danger to her own life, Latifa established a school and attempted to defy a regime, one child at a time. In May 2001, Latifa and her parents escaped through dangerous Taliban territory to Pakistan, then Paris. After several weeks, their flight was discovered, and the government issued a fatwa against them. Now in 2002, with the Taliban in retreat, Latifa's future seems brighter, although her homeland is still in turmoil. Written during her exile, this book is an extraordinarily powerful account of a teenager's life under terrible circumstances and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.


Book Info
A moving tale of oppression and courageous defiance--the true story of a teenage girl growing up in war-torn Afghanistan. This is her testimony--a young woman's reaction to the inhumanity taking place before her very eyes.


About the Author
Latifa was born in 1980 in Kabul and now lives in Paris. My Forbidden Face is her first book, written with Shekeba Hachemi. Founder of Afghanistan Libre, Shekeba works on behalf of Afghan women and divides her time between Paris and Kabul.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
This haunting book details daily life inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. It is both a horrifying and extremely poignant journal, written by a young woman coming of age in 1996 as the oppressive white Taliban flag is first raised over Kabul. "Latifa," a lycée graduate, has just taken her exams to enter the university; she wants to be a journalist. Her father is prosperous, her mother a doctor. Their lives are good ones -- Latifa reads movie magazines, watches videos, plays games with her family, and has high hopes for her own future.

And then, in one fell swoop, her entire world comes to a halt.

What vivid, lively dramatic images she gives us! The book, an act of defiance and resistance, gives us entr￯﾿ﾽe to a world little known and almost unimaginable in the West.

Literally overnight, Taliban Radio orders all women to remain at home until further notice. And then the dreadful repression begins in earnest: Women may not work, may not walk outside alone. All health care for women ceases. Schools are shut, books hidden away, televisions destroyed. There are edicts against all music, singing, all Western influences; the list is endless. The worst symbol of destruction: the birka, a garment that completely covers the female form and only allows limited visibility. Once it is on, all women are put in a kind of immediate visual prison.

At first, Latifa is overwhelmed and depressed, and takes to her bed for weeks. Then she begins to fight back: She runs an illegal school for girls and boys out of her apartment and keeps her dreams alive. Anyone who needs inspiration in these uncertain times should read this book: It is a cautionary tale, powerful in its telling, and ultimately uplifting. (Elena Simon)

Elena Simon lives in New York City.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In a moving tale of oppression and courageous defiance, sixteen-year-old Latifa tells her story of growing up in war torn Afghanistan. She was a prisoner in her own home as the Taliban wreaked havoc on the lives of Afghan girls and women. The regime banned women from working, from schools, from public life, even from leaving their homes without a male relative. Female faces were outlawed as the burka, or head-to-toe veil, became mandatory. Like a contemporary Anne Frank, Latifa was forced to observe, absorb, and make sense of what was happening to women, to her country, to her family, from the confines of her four walls. In 2001, after escaping to Pakistan, then to Paris, with her parents, Latifa's future finally opened up. Written during exile, this book is an extraordinarily powerful account of a teenager's life under terrible circumstances and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.

FROM THE CRITICS

Entertainment Weekly

It chronicles one Afghan family's 'nightmare in broad daylight' with an intimacy you won't find in newspapers. Grade: A-

Washington Post

The stories of the women of Afghanistan are at once individually dramatic and collectively numbing.

Los Angeles Times

[My Forbidden Face] is her story, told with a young girl's unflinching faith in the future.

Publishers Weekly

Readers who want to know what life was really like when the Taliban ruled Kabul should turn off CNN and read this book. Latifa (who writes under a pseudonym) was a 16-year-old aspiring journalist when her brother rushed home one day in late 1996 with word that the white flag of the Taliban flew over their school and mosque. She writes, "We knew the Taliban were not far away... but no one truly believed they would manage to enter Kabul." The bizarre edicts of the women-suppressing regime slowly become a reality: women weren't allowed outside the home unless they were shrouded in a "chadri" (which covers the face and arms, unlike a burka, which covers the entire body and according to Latifa is worn only in distant provinces) and accompanied by a male relative. "A girl is not allowed to converse with a young man. Infraction of this law will lead to the immediate marriage of the offenders." No wearing of bright colors or lipstick; no medical care from a male doctor. And women doctors were not allowed to work, essentially cutting off medical care for women. Latifa's story puts a face on these now-familiar rules, and conveys the sheer boredom of the lively teenager-turned-hermit and the desperation of not knowing if she'll ever complete her education in such an upside-down world. Despite its rushed ending (the family fled to France in May 2001 with the help of French Elle) and the occasional reminder that the author is now only 22 (there's talk of Madonna, Brooke Shields, fashion and Indian films), this memoir is one instance where a thousand words are worth more than any picture. (Mar.) Forecast: Although the first serial was to be in now defunct Talk, this book should sell well. It's not as heavy as many of the other Taliban tell-alls, and will appeal to the Oprah reader and even curious teens. Watch for the review of another very similar book, Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Battle for Freedom (Morrow) in Forecasts next week. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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